Immortal Hope Part 1 Hidden Truths
by The Schizophrenic Gatekeeper
Summary: Do you know anyone as well as you think? Problems for SG1
1. Default Chapter

**Category: **Angst, Action/Adventure, Drama

**Spoilers: **Many, a very long list of them, large and small, 2001, 2010, The Light, Need, In The Line Of Duty, The Film, Hathor, There But For The Grace Of God, The Gamekeeper, Absolute Power, Out Of Mind, Into The Fire, Tok'ra (both parts), Fifth Race, Torment Of Tantalus, Fire And Water, and the small ones, Holiday, Bronca Divide, Foothold, Forever In A Day, Thor's Hammer, Thor's Chariot, The Nox, Crystal Skull, Fair Game, The Curse, The Serpents Lair, Within The Serpents Grasp, Prisoners

**Season/Sequel: **Five, after 48 hours, but before Summit

**Rating: **PG-15

**Content Warnings: **Violence, character death (in a way) and some swearing

**Summary: **Do you know everyone as well as you think you do? Certain events lead to a revelation for the SGC group.

**Status: **Work in progress

**Archive:**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own StarGate SG-1, but the original characters in this story are mine, (luckily else I'd feel pretty useless). And I am making no money what so ever from this. Unfortunately.

**Author's Notes: **This is the second version of this story, and my first real try at a fan fic, so if it's a bit, funky, sorry. This is a bit more of a Daniel story than I had at first hoped, but hopefully the others are still there, I hope! Thanks to everyone who've helped, especially Linz, Lore and the ferret!

**Challenge #880**   
Daniel's not who he has claimed to be over the pasted four years.

1. So who is he?  
2. How is his cover blown?  
3. What will be the reaction from the team?  
4. No romance.  
5. Lots of action/adventure  
6. Daniel (well who ever you make him out to be) getting hurt and Jack realising that it doesn't matter who he is they have grown to be a family.

SOMEONE PLEASE DO THIS, PRETTY PLEASE.

**Challenge #577**  
Write a story listening to your favourite music and use the music to influence your story (i.e. slow music means sadness fast music means action). Contribute the songs to the story and send it in. If you need more information contact me.

Submitted by Jennie

**Songs:**

Hanging Around

Explode

Erase/Rewind

**Part One**

Hanging around

I wonder what it's like  
seeing through your eyes  
You've offered me to have a try  
but I was always late  
The filters that I use  
give me an excuse  
I take away what's real  
I feel it and it blows my fuse  
I hang around  
for another round  
I'm hanging around  
for another round  
I'm hanging on  
to the same old song

I hang around  
for another round  
Until something stops me  
I wonder what it's like  
walking by your side  
To think before I talk  
and to move at the same speed as you walk  
I want to have a weight  
to keep me in your state  
I'm watching from above  
I love it but it's not for me

Colonel Jack O'Neill sat on the edge of the camp that he and his team had set up, keeping watch. So far it had been a pretty normal mission. Doctor Jackson, SG-1's archaeologist, linguist and anthropologist, had been busy examining the caves near the Stargate for cave paintings but hadn't come up with anything of enough interest that would make it worth while for an another team to come to the planet. Major Carter had taken the soil samples and had them ready for their return the next day and the teams forth and final member, the Jaffa Teal'c had been busy guarding them all through out. So all and all they would be ready to return home in the morning, on time for once.

As always the night's watch had been split four ways, Jackson taking the first few hours, then Carter, then O'Neill himself and then Teal'c. But if they were totally honest there wasn't really anything much around to be looking out for.

A noise nearby summoned the middle aged colonel form his thoughts as he looked for it's source. After a few minutes his eyes fell to the moaning figure of Daniel Jackson. Over the years the member of SG-1 had come to know their fellow team mates habits and demons, or at least all of the ones that mattered. The only ones that ever really seemed to effect them in one way or another were their sleeping habits, Jackson had always tended towards having vivid dreams that would cause him to mutter and move around and it always seemed to come to whoever was on watch at the time to calm him. Or else everyone would no doubt end up being woken by him.

Quietly careful not to either of the others Jack walked over to his young face and sat down to one side of him watching as he tossed and turned muttering under his breath. Gently Jack started to reach out to rub his friend's back but froze, shock written all over his features as his mind possessed the words that had just left his friend's mouth. Swallowing hard Jack ignored the words, determined not to let them stick in his mind, after all it's possible someone to say something in their sleep that makes no sense what so ever, it tended to go with what the dream was like. Shaking the younger man gently he waited for him to wake up.

"Come on Daniel, wake up" His voice was quiet but he was close enough to the other man to know he would hear. "Come on Danny boy this isn't the time to be stubborn."

The young man groaned opening his eyes tiredly. "Wh, What's going on Ja'k?" Half asleep Daniel looked at his friend questioningly, "It's still dark."

Jack chuckled quietly shaking his head, "Yeah, you were having a bit of a noisy dream so I thought I had better wake you before you woke us." Daniel Jackson winced apologetically.

"Sorry." Jack shrugged, glancing round.

"Well, night Daniel." Daniel rolled his eyes and resettled in his sleeping bag.

"Yeah sure." Jack smiled watching as his friend went to sleep before heading back to his log and his watch. As he did so two sentences echoed in his head, _I'll get her back, or I'll die trying. The next time I come back here, Ebony will be with me, or I won't come back. _The words he had heard before he had woken his friend. The thing that troubled him was, as far as he knew, Daniel had never known anyone called Ebony.

They made short work of breaking camp as after five years they had learned how to do so quickly and efficiently, working well as a unit. Major Sam Carter glanced around as they headed off towards the Stargate gut instinct telling her that something was not right. Glancing at the others she saw the same tenseness on their faces and in their bearing even Daniel's, the only member of the team who wasn't military trained in one way or another. Turning her gaze to their surroundings she frowned. The wind was the only thing disturbing any thing and even that was only slight. The feeling seemed to have no reason or cause other than perhaps the eerily silence that had settled around them. In two days they had found no evidence to suggest that perhaps there were people on the planet, or at least not any where within a forty mile radius, not recently. The sudden noise of a twig snapping off to their left caused her to turn at the same time bringing her gun up to bare. Completing her turn she found herself face to face with a heavily armed young man who was no taller than five foot two, but built like a tank. He was armed like the others who had effectively surrounded the team with a bow and arrows and a long sword. Glancing at her Commanding Officer she raised an eyebrow.

"Sir?" A grunt answered her as the colonel lowered his weapon and held up his hands in a sign of surrender.

"Doesn't look like we've got much choice in the matter Carter. Lower your weapons." They all did so taking in the sheer amount of armed men surrounding them and realizing that there was no way that they could possibly get out alive even with their superior weaponry. Jack sighed before glancing over his shoulder at Jackson.

"Don't suppose you could talk to the nice army could you Danny?" The young man frowned slightly,

"I don't think they would listen to be honest Jack, after all I have a feeling they can understand every word we're saying as it is." Teal'c nodded solemnly.

"I do believe Daniel Jackson is correct O'Neill." Jack looked at their captures and made a face.

"Great, the innocent till proven guilty thing really doesn't work very well does it?"

The leader of the 'army', a middle aged man with long black hair and brown eyes, stepped forward and looked at each of them in turn, eyes resting for longer on Daniel than any of the others before speaking.

"You will come with us. You are our Prisoners. Attempt escape and be killed. Remain silent."

Glancing around for one last time they resigned themselves to wait till the situation was slightly better before doing as they had been told, following the leader.

General George Hammond, commander of the SGC stood in the control room over looking the Stargate a deep frown set on his face. Looking at the Technician on duty he spoke,

"How long has it been since SG-1 last checked in Lieutenant?" The young woman typed a search into the computer before quickly answering her CO's question.

"Twenty-four hours sir." Grim faced the general thanked her before heading up to the briefing room where SG-18 where waiting. Major Adams and his team stood as he entered the room sitting as soon as he had done so himself.

"There has been no news from SG-1 in 24 hours, I would like your team Major Adams, to find out why. As you know they are presently on a mission to PR5-7896, an apparently uninhabited planet that was not on the Abydos cartouche. Gear up and be ready to depart at 0800. Dismissed." SG-18 quickly left to gear up, more than a little willing to get going on the mission.

12 hours after being captured SG-1 found themselves in the middle of a large tribal like village chained to metal posts by a fire pit. Since it was still daylight there was no fire burning for which they were grateful as it was extremely hot even in the shade.

Unable to communicate in away because of the risk of punishment, which as they had found out on the way to the village was a beating, in the form of the flat of one of their swords. Glancing around the four of them took in their surroundings wondering what was to happen to them.

An elderly woman slowly made her way over to them looking at them each in turn stopping to look at Daniel for the longest as though something about him was interesting to her. Satisfied she had gotten a measure of each of them she turned and motioned towards a group of men who were guarding a hut nearby.

"Bring the others to join these." Her voice was firm, to be obeyed, which the men did. They vanished into the hut coming out moments later leading a small group of 'people' who SG-1 recognized automatically. Sam Carter gasped in horror as she identified her father as one of them. Along with him there was Aldwin and Anise two other Tok'ra with whom the SGC friendly.

The men lead them, none too gently over to the next three posts and chained them there before moving off making rude comments about the group now on the display posts. Teal'c sent an extremely hostile look in their direction effectively shutting them up.

The woman looked at them all once more a look of slight distaste on her face. "You may speak, for a time." With that she turned and left.

Sam looked at her father as best she could from her position in the line, worry gracing her features. "What happened Dad? How'd you get here?" Jacob Carter, host to the Tok'ra Selmak sighed heavily before answering.

"The Tok'ra council sent us here a week ago to find out what it was like, we were thinking of moving again, but it would seem that there is life here that we didn't know about before." Jack nodded.

"Oh yeah, ya' think?" Anise and Aldwin both threw him their best attempts at glares. "We came on a two day mission to look at the caves, the UAV didn't show anything that said 'people live here' so we came. But yet again it was WRONG. Got to fix those things." Teal'c watching the movement around them while they spoke summoned their attention.

"Their leader approaches." Breaking off the conversation they turned their attention to the man who now stood before them.

"More of you come. They will soon join you to be judged. You have been judged. You are foreign, no foreign is good, all of you are bad. Perhaps." The man turned and left heading off towards the largest of the huts. Teal'c frowned.

"I do not believe we have been judged fairly." Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"No, we've been judged, we're strangers, alien, so therefore we ARE bad, until proven otherwise." Six pairs of eyes turned to stare at the young man, sharing one thought, _what?_

SG-18 stepped out of the Stargate onto PR5-7896 straight into an ambush. Major Adams swore under his breath as a sword was held to his neck forcing his team to lower their weapons and surrender, against their will.

_Well at least we know what happened to SG-1 now._ Adams thought to himself, as they were lead along through the low shrubbery.

The group already on the posts watched as SG-18 were coerced into allowing themselves to be tied to the next five posts. Jack groaned.

"Great, now there's not seven of us but TWELVE! Great rescue attempt Adams." He muttered under his breath gained a smack from a sword for his trouble as well as a 'shut up and quit making this worse then it already is' look from Daniel.

The tribe's leader was back once again and seemed bent on speaking to them. Once SG-18 had been tied to the posts he raised his hands in the air meeting each of their gazes one by one.

"It is dark. Look upon the sky for this will be your last night foreign, unless," the man smiled at Daniel, "He can do the task set."

Looks of surprise and horror crossed their faces as it sunk in what the man was planning he had picked the 'weakest' of them to carry out a task to save them all.

Daniel felt himself go slightly paler than normal as the tribe leader confirmed his fears. He was to take the responsibility of all of his 'friends' lives on his shoulders and his actions would be the things that lead to them going free or them dying. It would be on his head if they died.

Like the last time but worse, so much worse. This time there wasn't just one life in the balance, but twelve. The last time it had been just him, and no one else. Of course as far as the others knew there hadn't been a last time. Damnit.

With a heavy sigh Daniel rested his head back on the post, the only one not to be resting in one way or another. In the past years, from the first mission to Abydos until only a day before he hadn't felt out of place or mistrusted by his friends. Now all he knew was that the situation wasn't good, it wasn't the same as the last time, different people, different planet, but it still made him feel bad. There was so much his friends didn't know about. Ever so much that he wished he could have told them, but couldn't, not after so long. Glancing down the row to either side he shook his head hating himself for what he had been doing for so long. For lying to them all, even the Tok'ra, a group of people that had yet to earn his trust beyond Selmak, Jacob's symbiot. Selmak had been around when SG-1 had faced some bad problems and had helped them not caring that they were of the Tauri, and for that he had gained Daniel's trust if not his complete unquestioning friendship, something very few people had gained over the years considering how many he had met. Looking out over the flat land that stretched out from one side of the village Daniel watched the sun rise wondering what it was that he would have to do to free himself and the others, or perhaps just the others, as in his heart he doubted he would ever be free of this place until the day he did what he could not do. Or rather what he hadn't done.

The group, all awake the sun having started it's daily journey across the sky a full three hours before, watched as the leader once more approached them a set of keys held in his right hand smiling. Each of them had their own thoughts on the matter ahead, the challenge, one working for the whole. The possibility that in no less than an hour's time they could be free, if all went well. The man drew himself to his full height, all four foot six inches of it and faced Daniel, addressing the whole group.

"The task is to collect six buckets of water from the lake. It seems a simple task but I can assure you it is not. There are many dangers between here and the lake, and many in it. The buckets must be full and clean. Or they will be discounted." Daniel stared at the man the distaste that he felt towards him carefully hidden. Collect water. Great that sounded like fun. "One weapon will be given to the person who is to carry out this, a simple knife." The man held up the small knife he had pulled from his belt and smiled sadistically at Daniel as he did so.

Placing the thing back into the belt he turned and addressed the others ignoring Daniel as though he were meaningless.

"If you believe that any of this is unfair do not bother to point it out, our decision has been made. That is the challenge." The man turned back to Daniel and wrinkled his nose looking him up and down as though he were a piece of meat before he stepped behind him to unlock the chains holding Daniel to the post. Stepping around to stand in front of him again the man narrowed his eyes. "Do not be foolish. The challenge is the only way. All others mean death to your kind." Distastefully he pulled out the knife and rammed it into Daniel's hand causing him to wince as the hilt bruised the skin. Defiantly meeting the other man's gaze Daniel silently told him that he didn't care, he just wanted to get on with the damn challenge. The man nodded grimly to two of the younger men to lead Daniel to the place he was to start, handing him a plain bucket. "It begins foreign."

Jack watched as his young friend was lead away to carry out the challenge, which really hadn't been explained very well, but what did he expect here they had a group of people none of which who seemed to be over five foot tall who believed in that oh so annoying belief of guilty till proven innocent, stupid idea that it was. Personally Jack was beginning to need to feel the cold metal of his gun against his hip rather than the cold metal of the damned post. Who used metal posts anyway, surely wooden ones were better. And rope, what he wouldn't have given to be tied to the post with rope, but no, chains it was. Worry and dread filled him as his friend vanished from site and beyond any help that any one could offer. To try what was probably for Daniel the impossible, almost, to save them all.

Daniel walked slowly through the shrubbery knife in one hand and bucket in the other hoping that all of his trips would be uneventful. It was obvious that there was something that fazed the people about this area and the lake, after all why else would they have stopped following him about ten minutes ago. A noise off to his left made him turn knife ready, eyes searching the brush for any sign of movement. Frowning he turned back to the trail determined not to lose more time than was necessary. But if he were to admit it the one thing he hated the most was not knowing even if at times it was better not to, not knowing never helped in situations like this one, it just got you killed. As he moved on he changed hands every so often in case there was someone or something following that was watching to see if he was going to leave one side unprotected or if he favoured one side to the other. Finally he caught sight of the lake, which looked harmless, on the surface. As Daniel drew closer he saw what the man had meant when he had said there was danger in the water. Ever so often a miniature shark looking thing would come up close to the surface in search of food, sharp teeth visible, even in the shallows. Raising his eyebrows Daniel moved forwards picking up a stone on the way concentration showing on his face as he threw it in towards the centre of the water. Swiftly he bent and filled the bucket to the water line before backing off eyes on the fury in the area he had thrown the stone. Yep, the shark like things were looking for food. Shuddering he checked the water in the bucket before turning and heading back.

The return journey was slightly slower then the trip to the water, as it came more and more obvious to Daniel that his movement was slowly being registered by what ever it was that lived in this part of the shrubbery. Swallowing hard he pushed himself on knife held ready. Upon reaching the village again he handed the first bucket to the boy who had given it to him before picking up the next with a heavy sigh. Turning around he headed back into the wild.

The next two runs where uneventful bar the near end of his bucket in the waters of the lake and increased movement in the shrubs. But the fourth run offered a greater challenge.

For the first few meters there was nothing, no movement, no bird song, nothing, not even a breeze, a tell tale sign of something to come. The calm before the storm. Stubbornly Daniel refused to allow the worry to get to him, pushing the nervousness away and focusing on the task ahead, collecting the fourth bucket full. Taking a lung full of air as a rustle in the brush to his left caught his attention Daniel tightened his grip on the knife in his right hand but gamely continued on, knowing that the sooner it was all over the better. As he walked he became aware of a large beast following him along the side of the track, every rustle making his heart skip a beat as fear built up as his mind started to run over all the possibilities. Frowning heavily he silently scolded himself for thinking too much, knowing that if he was going to finish this he would have to stay calm and in one piece. After all the water had to be clean.

Daniel froze as the beast's growl reached his ears, eyes widening in fear. Turning a placed the bucket on the ground changing his grip on the hilt of the knife hoping he could remember enough to be able to use the thing. Out of nowhere he found himself face to face with the beast, something that looked very much like a tiger and stood at about three and a half foot tall, Daniel had to fight the urge to turn and run knowing that running would bring a much larger danger than the beast down upon not only his own head but also the group of people that he had last seen chained to a set of metal posts, the people who he was doing it for, his friends. Swallowing his fear he took a step backwards away from it not sure of what to do.

It's large green eyes stared at him, measuring him up, reminding him of wolves that he had often seen while on holiday and on a dig once, those eyes had been full of intelligence, while these were full of intelligence AND hunger. Fear and dread wrapped themselves around Daniel's heart as a lump rose in his throat and he took another step back, knowing that it wasn't going to give up a chance at an easy meal.

The only warning that it was about to pounce came mere seconds before hand as it's muscles bunched in preparation. In those moments time seemed to slow as it leapt and Daniel turned the knife up and out to met it, digging into the soft flesh beneath the thick layer of red fur. The large animal dropped centimetres away from him, the knife buried in it's chest, unconscious. Daniel swallowed hard, fighting back the need to vomit as he realized that the warm sensation on his hand was the animal's blood, which coated most of three fingers and one side of his palm. Wincing he knelt beside the animal placing a hand against it's chest to check for any sign of life before he pulled out the knife, giving the dying animal a silent apology for what he had done knowing that he hadn't had a choice but still taking responsibility for it and the guilt that went with it. Carefully he moved the thing into the brush covering it with some bits and pieces hoping that it would be enough before leaning down and picking the bucket up again and continuing on his way.

Jack O'Neill silently glanced down the line meeting his team mates eyes, hoping with everything he had, that his young friend would be okay, that he wouldn't be killed, that he would succeed. It didn't matter that all of their lives were on the line, that wasn't important in Jack's mind, all that was important was that his young friend, who had lost everything, from his parents to his step-son, in the short space of thirty-five years. Daniel's luck, famous within the walls of the SGC, was not good, he was always getting hurt in one way or another, yet he just kept getting up again, never really faltering in his quest for what was right. Never giving up.

In his heart Jack knew only too well that even a man as strong as Daniel would hit something from which he could never get up from, never rise above, there would be something one day that would stop the young man, forever. And Jack was beginning to wonder if this was it. If this were that one thing that would halt Daniel Jackson. Forever. And there was nothing Jack, Sam or Teal'c could do but wait. Wait to see if their friend would return or if he wouldn't.

Daniel placed the fifth bucket on the ground and picked up the final one aware of the eyes fixed upon him, since the death of the cat-like beast the only other problem he had hit was one of the sharks. The small beast had given up on the rock before the others and had noticed the bucket being lowered into the water. The shark had jumped out of the water and latched it's self onto Daniel's left elbow, hard. It had taken him fifteen minutes to kill it and a further ten to get it off his arm where it had somehow kept it's death grip. So now he had dark bloodstains from himself, the shark and the cat-like thing on his clothes, though it didn't show much on the black of his T-shirt it was visible on his exposed skin and trousers.

Wincing he took the bucket's weight on his left arm, knowing that he would need to have the knife in his right, stronger hand in order to defend himself on the way to and from the lake. Looking round once before turning to continue the pattern he locked his gaze with that of the leader's for a good few moments allowing his anger to show in his eyes, letting the man know that he disliked the idea of having to do it all. Every last thing, and that he was doing it for his friends, not for himself.

As Daniel approached the lake he felt his blood run cold as the sound of an animal eating met his ears knowing that it was most probably another of the cat's eating what was left of the shark that had taken a bite out of him, not good, not good at all. Suppressing the fear he took the final few steps needed to reach the lake and bent down picking up a stone and throwing it in, as he had done every time in order to distract the sharks he glanced in the direction of the noise hoping that he wouldn't have to kill anything else to finish the damn challenge, he didn't enjoy killing things that were just trying to survive, it wasn't fair. Seeing that the coast was clear Daniel dipped the bucket into the water filling it then pulled it out and started to stand only to get the wind knocked out of him as a large furry object contacted with his lower chest. Dropping the bucket Daniel desperately reached for the knife instinct taking over, the knife automatically coming up to contact with the animal's side as actions that had been drummed into him long before were carried out with barely a thought as the animal's claws raked his right side and it's teeth drew ever closer to his chest. Withdrawing the blade from the beast's side Daniel pushed it up between the thing's front legs praying for it to stop what it was doing. Abruptly the thing went limp on top of him it's weight pressing down on his chest and right arm as he frantically tried to breath. Somehow he eventually managed to get out from under it, taking time to lay on his back taking deep breaths, his eyes shut tightly, heart pounding.

After a few minutes having managed to get his breathing under control Daniel pulled himself off the ground and headed over to where he had dropped the bucket. Finding it on it's side he wearily picked up another rock and re-filled the bucket before turning and trudging up the track back to the village, barely aware of his actions.

Placing the bucket on the ground in front of the village leader Daniel took a step back looking up and into the man's eyes.

"I have completed the task, may we go free now?" Daniel's voice was strained and worn after the day's activities but he knew it was good enough to get his point across. The man nodded, not looking too happy, but it was obvious he wasn't about to break the agreement so Daniel was happy.

"You may, come we must release your companions." Daniel nodded in understanding and followed the man back to the square.

The eleven companions spent the day in silence waiting for news if their friend had failed or if he had succeeded. Worry had worn it's self onto the faces of the three remaining members of SG-1 while concern was obvious on the faces of SG-18 and the Tok'ra representatives. Jack O'Neill glanced over at his 2IC as of the sound people approaching met their ears, silently asking if she could see who it was. Sam Carter shook her head solemnly in answer concern and despair mixing on her face. Teal'c's voice rang out startling the group at it's suddenness.

"Daniel Jackson are you well?" The sight of a very bedraggled, blood covered Daniel Jackson surprised them all, as they had none the less been expecting never to see him again.

In answer to the question the young archaeologist winced slightly.

"Oh yeah I'm fine Teal'c, though I have an awful feeling Janet's going to kill me." Jack winced running his eyes over his friend.

"Who'd you have a fight with and lose Danny?" Tired, and slightly glazed blue eyes met his brown ones as the answer came.

"I won, I think, two nice big fuzzy cat-tigers and a miniature great white in the pond." Jack raised an eyebrow,

"So, we going?" His only answer was a slight head nod. Grinning Jack laughed. "Well done Danny boy! Hammond'll enjoy this one!"

Jack rubbed his wrists as he stepped away from the post and walked over to clap his friend on the back but stopped before hand, eyes widening. He swallowed before reaching out and pulling his young friend's left arm up to get a better look at the damage before letting it go and slowly walking around his friend eyes taking in the damage. Taking a deep breath Jack met his friend's eyes.

"God Danny what was out there? On second thoughts don't answer that, I don't think I would like the answer." Glancing back at the others he continued, "We're going, now." Teal'c and Sam nodded their understanding walking over to join the two of them and offering Daniel their silent support. Somehow Daniel managed a weak smile despite the pain.

"I'll be fine, for now." He reassured them knowing that his voice did little to calm their fears, they would always be worried for him, something that he found reassuring. Even if it could get annoying at times. Jack nodded his understanding as the others walked over to join them and their group headed off out of the village back toward the Gate and their way home.

Daniel Jackson was in a bed in the infirmary asleep, having been taken out of the Gate room by the medics that had been waiting and the rest of them, including the Tok'ra, who had decided to return with the SG teams to Earth had gone straight up to the briefing room to tell General Hammond everything they knew about what had happened.

Teal'c sat quietly though the story until the general asked what Doctor Jackson had been though to get the wounds that he had.

"I do not know General Hammond, though judging from Daniel Jackson's wounds I am surprised that he prevailed. What I know of Daniel Jackson tells me it is not possible as he has not the skill nor the ability to kill anything with a knife, for such a thing would require close proximity to what ever it was, or rather they were. It is hard for me to believe he did it on his own." Jack sighed heavily before nodding his head in agreement as Sam Carter did the same.

"I have to agree with Teal'c sir, Daniel isn't capable of such a thing. But what we saw suggests that something like that did happen. Unless those people beat him."

General Hammond nodded in understanding. "Okay I'll take your word for it, for now we'll have to wait for Doctor Fraiser's thoughts on the situation before we can talk to Doctor Jackson about it." The group nodded their understanding.

"George, if you don't mind myself, Aldwin and Anise would like to stay here for a while before we return to base." The General smiled at his old friend and nodded his understanding.

"Of course, you're welcome to stay Jacob." Looking around he stood. "You're dismissed."

Meanwhile in an infirmary bed the exhausted young Doctor lay dreaming.

"_Hope is important. With out hope we are nothing." The elderly man's voice ran out loud and clear reaching even the young boy's ears where he stood watching. "The idea of this activity is to test you. To see your faults and make you aware of them. It will also show you your strengths but do not take them for granted for it is easy for a strength to become a weakness if you do." The boy lent on the fence's upper crossbeam taking in every word the man said and remembering it for future use....._

_Gentle hands brushed against the sword's blade as he examined it eyes shining with excitement. Smiling he fingered the hilt running his fingertips over the engravings. Looking up at the young woman who was stood in the doorway the smile widened as he met her deep green eyes. Holding up the sword for her to see he watched as she walked over and took it from his hands to look it over herself........._

_The young girl was limp in her chains, the only thing holding her up was the wooden post that the chains held her to. Dried blood covered one side of her pale face while her right arm hung at an unnatural angle. His heart went out to her as he gently pulled the chains away from her and lowered her to the ground, before raising the bowl of water to her lips and kindly helping her to take to few sips from it knowing that she hadn't had much to eat or drink in a while from his own experience. Gently he lifted her into his arms hushing her as she tried to rebuke him for doing so, sure in her own way that she could walk. His voice was soft, the words meant only for her as he spoke, not knowing that someone else would hear because it was a memory, a dream, of something that had happened years before. _"Hush child, it's time to get you home, hush, you shouldn't speak or else you'll wake them."

Jack O'Neill frowned looking up at his sleeping friend worry furrowing his brow.

"So, you look better." Jack commented awkwardly, mind still processing both what had been said in the debriefing and the words Daniel had spoken during his sleep, which he had annoying with himself for not understanding them had told the other two members of their team about. The thing was the other two had been as confused by them as he had.

"Yeah right, I still feel like a had a run in with Teal'c." Daniel commented in a voice that sounded better than it had two days before though it was obvious that the young doctor still had a fairly sore throat. Jack laughed half-heartedly drawing a frown onto his young friend's pale features. Jack winced inwardly, knowing that if he didn't act like normal he would be talked into telling his young friend what had happened in the time he had been more or less unconscious of any thing.

"Hmm, what did you have a run in with Danny-boy? Coz' what ever it was it's done in those looks of yours, a jealous lover perhaps, or one of the ones you ignored?" The joke was weak, the best Jack had due to the place that his mind was settled. Daniel presented him with an odd look telling him that the joke was one of the worst he had heard from the aging colonel. Jack shrugged.

"The old age thing is finally catching up with my humour." Suddenly Jack pulled a grin and clapped the younger man on the foot, "Nice to see you alive, but there's a mountain of paper work waiting to be shredded." Daniel laughed at this and gave a faint wave with his better hand as the elder man turned and wandered out of the infirmary.

A week later Daniel Jackson lay on his bed in his on base quarters deep in thought. Over the past few days he had noticed the way the others, his closest friends had been spending little to no time with him as though they were unsure of something. At first he had thought nothing of it guessing it was guilt at having left it to him to do the challenge, but after several days without improvement he was getting more and more worried about it. There had been times like this before, after they had escaped from Apophis' mother ships, when they had left him for dead on Nem's planet, after Osiris, enough times that he had grown used to it, but this time was defiantly different. He was beginning to wonder if there was a reason that the Tok'ra members had stayed behind, that there was the possibility that they KNEW. Though he doubted it as most likely the General would have ordered some one to watch him or for him to be put into the brig.

Sighing heavily he rubbed the corners of his eyes tiredly, unsure if the only solution to his own feeling of self-hate and the awkwardness was the right thing to do. It was the hardest thing for him to do after all this time, but in his heart he knew that he had always wanted to tell the people he trusted, as soon as the trust had gotten to this point, he had known he would tell them. No matter how hard it would be.

With a groan Daniel hauled himself off the bed and onto his feet, preparing himself for what he was about to do. Glancing around his quarters for a few moments he drew in a deep breath past the tightness in his chest, then turned and walked out the of room in search of his trusted team mates and friends.

Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, Teal'c, Janet Fraiser and Jacob Carter, the host to the Tok'ra Selmak, sat around in an uncomfortable silence in the colonel's office, none of them sure what to do or say. What they knew was confusing and muddled not making any kind of sense to any of them, each one with their own thoughts on it, few agreeing on any one point. A soft knock on the door brought them out of their daze.

"Come in." Jack looked up expecting to it to be one of the Airmen on duty, only to find himself looking into the eyes of the subject of the meeting, Daniel Jackson. Jack swallowed trying to hide the discomfort he felt upon the arrival of the young man he thought he had seen as his best friend for so long. Looking around he saw that the others had also had the same thought as he had had, that Daniel had come looking for them, ALL of them.

"Hey Danny." Jack's voice was tight despite his attempt to hide his feelings.

Daniel looked around taking in the people in the room. He hadn't been expecting to find them all together but it didn't surprise him. No doubt he was the reason that they were there as the looks on their faces told him. The cause was most probably the events of the last two weeks. His unexpected success in the task set him back on the planet, words spoken in deep dreams. Dreams in which he had relived events from years before. Dreams during which he had no way to prevent himself from talking out loud because of their intensity. Not that he had much control over what he said during the other such dreams, or nightmares as they often turned out to be. He knew that Jack would have been the one who had over heard him and puzzled by the words had sort out guidance form the others. None of whom would have had anymore of a clue than Jack himself. But he was about to provide the answers.

"There's something you should all know." Daniel glanced around checking that they were all listening, yes they were. "I'm, I haven't been telling you something important." Daniel stopped stuck for words that would make the thing easier for him and for them.

"You can tell us Danny." Jack spoke prompting Daniel in a seemingly casual way drawing an uncertain glance from Daniel who continued none the less.

"I'm not who you think I am, I mean I am Daniel Jackson, but I'm not." Daniel frowned as he spoke knowing it didn't quite sound how he had wanted it to. Looking up he took in the puzzled looks of the rooms other occupants.

Teal'c had raised an eyebrow, the Jaffa's way of telling others that he didn't quite understand what had been said, Sam and Janet were starring at each other as though expecting an answer from the other and Jacob seemed to be having an inner conversation with Selmak on the matter at hand. While Jack was the only one of them who didn't look that startled, in fact he looked like on some level or other he had expected it, which didn't surprise Daniel, after all the group had been together for more or less five years. Five years was a long time in their situation.

"What do you mean?" Jack's voice showed some of his doubts on the matter.

"I'm not exactly who you think I am. It's pretty complicated. You see I'm not _actually_ 36, and I'm not _actually _Claire and Melbourne Jackson's son, they adopted me, but that makes it sound simple." Daniel took a deep breath knowing he had their total and complete attention. "You see I'm a lot older than you think I am, I was born about 5000 Years ago and my real name's Alastair." Daniel held up a finger to stop Jack from interrupting as a very doubtful look crossed the colonel's face. "How do you think I got some of my scars Jack? They're not the kind of thing you get from falling over in the sandbox." Janet nodded in agreement, as the SGC's chief medical officer she well knew were each and every scar most of the staff had and knew what could and couldn't have caused them. Daniel's scars that he had had before the SGC had always confused her considering he hadn't been to hospital for any major injures before. "The reason I never said anything before was because I doubted you would believe me, not that you have much more reason to do so now. I honestly never liked lying about it all. I always wanted to tell you but it never seemed to be the right thing to do at the time, until now." Jack and the others still looked like they were about to call mental health to come in and have a few words with him. Daniel sighed mentally searching for some way to make them believe him, anyway that couldn't be explained by anything else but what he had just said. Suddenly one of the memories that had been haunting him of late came to mind, Ebony. Daniel had a feeling that it was the dreams about Ebony during which he had spoken out loud, the least he could do would be to explain that to them. Looking Jack straight in the eyes Daniel spoke carefully.

"I guess you've been wondering who Ebony is or was haven't you?" Daniel's voice was soft as he asked the question never once taking his eyes from Jack, who swallowed and nodded.

"Yeah I have, it didn't make any sense to me when you started talking about someone called Ebony in your sleep. It's normally Sha're or someone." Daniel took a deep breath and nodded his understanding.

"Yeah, well Ebony's been dead for a while now. But she died naturally, somehow." Teal'c was frowning now, head cocked to one side.

"I do not understand. If she were to have died naturally then would she not have been old?" Daniel looked at Teal'c for a long time desperately trying to keep the pain of Ebony's loss at bay.

"She was old Teal'c, and a grandmother." Daniel's voice was softer than before as his gaze settled on the floor at his feet. It was hard to talk about Ebony after so long. Her grandchildren no doubt would be with their grandma. "This is going to sound really stupid but I knew Ebony all her life. From the day she was born to the day she died." Jack's eyes widened while Jacob Carter looked like he was about to suffer a heart attack at any moment. Sam was starring at Daniel mouth open ever so slightly, disbelief plain on her features. Daniel shut his eyes but continued ignoring their reactions knowing that they were listening even if they didn't believe him.

"When she was twelve, she was taken, I went looking for her and found her tried to a wooden post in the middle of a tribal ground, one of her arms was broken and she had been beaten, and raped. She nearly died." Jack was starring at his 'young' friend knowing suddenly that what he had just said wasn't something that you could make up, or at least not something that Daniel could make up and then tell with so much suppressed emotion. Dread gripped Jack's heart as he realized something else, Ebony had meant something to Daniel, she had been important to him and he had found her. Jack closed his eyes reaching up to rub them as he asked the one question that he didn't want to hear the answer to.

"Ebony was she your?" A startled look crossed Daniel face and he blushed ever so slightly.

"She wasn't my wife, she was my granddaughter." Jack's head shot up right and he starred at his friend horror written on his face.

"Your granddaughter? You mean you found your," Jack's voice trailed of as the memory of the loss of his son and the pain that still accompanied any thoughts that tread within a few feet of the subject. Even with that he couldn't ever come close to imaging what it would like to find his young grandchild tried to a wooden post having been tortured. Daniel's eyes met his, honestly clear in them, as ever they were the clearest way to tell if Daniel was telling the truth, or what he was feeling, it was the reason why he wasn't a very good liar. You can't lie very well if your hearts not behind it and it shows in your eyes. Jack searched those eyes for anything that would tell him that it wasn't true, desperate to find something. But there was nothing to find. It was true. But it didn't change the fact that the guy had been lying to them, all of them for nigh on five years. A long time. Which meant that General Hammond would have to be told and that Daniel Jackson, or whoever he really was, would be locked up in one of the holding cells, for a long while. Jack stood up a feeling of betrayal and distaste raising above the other feelings as he walked over to stand dead in front of the slightly smaller man.

"Stay here, we're going to tell the General, he NEEDS to KNOW about this." Daniel winced at the tone of the other man's voice and the message the sentence carried, of betrayal and hurt and distaste. All of which only increased the weight on Daniel's heart as he realized that he wouldn't see the light of day for a good long while. Or feel like he was trusted and believed in, after all if you're going by a different name and falsifying your age, it made you a completely different person as far as most of the world was concerned. Though technically you're still the same person. But it depends on the person. Of course, like everything else, it depended upon the person.

Resignedly Daniel moved away from the door and watched as they one by one left headed to the General's office, leaving a guard outside the door. Not one of them said a word to him, or even looked at him with anything other than distaste. Sadly Daniel sat down in one of the office's chairs to wait for their decision on what his fate was to be. The only thought that entered his mind as he did so was a silent message that he sent after his friends. _No matter what I will always see you all as my friends, even if today you doom me to a fate that you would only hold for an enemy. I will never hold it against you, I am so sorry for all the time wasted because I couldn't tell you the truth from the beginning I have only myself to blame for this._ With that he closed his eyes waiting.

General Hammond stood and looked at the group having heard all they had to say on the matter at hand. Walking over to the window that allowed him to see into the briefing room he sighed heavily, feeling the same disappointment and betrayal that the others were but managing to hide it more effectively than they were. Shaking his head he turned back to look at them.

"You know that this means that Doctor Jackson will become, effectively our prisoner until we find something to do with him, what with the security around this project." They all nodded and Jacob spoke adding his thoughts to his nod.

"And it may be better, especially if there's something else about this, for example it is possible that Daniel's been invaded by something or other, in which case it would be better, a solution could be found." General Hammond nodded solemnly.

"Of course." Turning to Jack and the other three he met their gazes never faltering. "You should understand that like the time that Major Carter was taken over by Jolinar, you will be responsible for questioning him?" They all nodded determined that they wouldn't treat him any differently than they would any other prisoner. Even if he had seemed to be a friend for so many long years. General Hammond nodded not as worried about them as he had been when they had stared the meeting, telling him of Doctor Jackson's admission. "Good, you should take him to the brig, Jacob, perhaps the Tok'ra will have questions to ask themselves?" Jacob nodded following his daughter and her friends out of the room heading towards his own destination while they left to place someone they had believed to be a good friend into the brig, because he was not who or what he seemed.

Daniel didn't bother to say anything or to fight them when they came to lead him to one of the converted storage rooms that they used as a cell in which to keep prisoners, when ever they had any, knowing it would just be a waste of time and energy.

Now he was laid on the bunk that had been placed against the back wall one arm draped over his eyes as he tried to get to sleep. For the past hour he had been vainly attempting to settle but the feeling of being watched was overwhelmingly uncomfortable. With a heavy sigh he dropped his arm and rolled onto his stomach allowing the exhaustion that he had started to feel while waiting for them to decide his fate to take over pulling him into a deep state of unconsciousness filled with his own memories, knowing that he wouldn't speak a word as he slept.

_Tiredly the young man ran a hand through his long hair, if it hadn't of been for his wife's love of his long wavy hair he would have cut it, despite the fact that as he was now of the higher class, even if it only by marriage, he should by necessary keep it long. Groaning he pulled himself upright and stretched before heading out of the room to begin a long search for his children. For the whole of his life, all twenty-seven years he had seen both sides of the world, unfortunately during his first eighteen years he had seen more of the bad than the good, the deaths of all of his family bar two of his sisters, an aunt and an uncle by the hands of raiders, villages and towns that the raiders had destroyed and the final battles of a long and bloody war, it hadn't been until his eightieth year that he had seen more good, that had been the year he had met his wife, two years his younger and had fallen in love with her. Despite that it had taken two years for them to get married, and only then because she had been proclaimed with child, if it hadn't been for that her father never would have allowed it. Now seven years on they had five children, three girls and two boys and she was once again coming into time. The eldest of their children, a girl they had named Elena was always leading her younger siblings into trouble leading to long periods of hunting for the small group. _

_The task always fell to Alastair as his wife always had to see to the youngest of the group, Ambrose a tiny one year old who had more or less become his mother's loving shadow. Heading for the one place that they could nearly always be found Alastair chuckled as a quiet squeal sounded from behind the small room's curtains. Good humouredly he turned round on the spot as though unsure of where it had come from before swiftly turning and pulling the young toddler into his arms and holding her up. Evelyn giggled as her father placed her back on the ground and ruffled her hair fondly before one by one extracting the five year old twins, Jonathan and Serena and the seven year old Elena from their hiding places and driving them out of the room and out into the garden....._

_Evelyn smiled warmly at her father as he dismounted walking over to her smiling warmly as he drew her into a gentle embrace. Four inches shorter than her father she buried her head into his shoulder before pulling back and looking him over. Pregnant with her fourth child she was paler than normal due to the pressure upon her. Her three children, Kerrin, Marcus and Ebony knew well enough not to ask her for much while she was nursing due to a long lecture from their grandfather and father, Thomas. Ebony, the only girl in the bunch was the one who always asked when their grandfather was going to visit as he was one of the few people she knew with the same love of horses she had and so as the young girl insisted was the only one who could possibly understand her. Alastair patted the side of his third daughter's face and gently kissed her on the forehead. Drawing back he took in the house and it's surroundings a humoured laugh escaping him as he spotted a hand sticking out from behind a barrel, Ebony. _

"_Well, well, hiding from me are you Ebony?" The young girl stood up as soon as he started to speak dusting down her skirts and shaking her head, blue green eyes widening._

"_No Grandfather, I wasn't hiding." Came the stubborn reply, "I dropped something." Alastair chuckled as she walked over and hugged him the fourteen year old well knew her grandfather's fondness for her as well as the reason. She was the image of both her mother and her Grandmother and shared many of her grandfather's interests, making her one of the few of his children or grandchildren that did. She also knew from experience how protective of his large family he was after he had found her and brought her home after some raiders had stolen her from her parent's home in a raid. Eyes bright she looked up at him a smile spreading across her face having seen what was sticking out of his saddlebag._

Daniel blinked as he woke from his dreams groaning as his stomach complained telling him in no uncertain terms that he needed to eat something, not that he could. It didn't look like anyone had thought that he might be hungry, either that or they wanted to see his reaction to going without food for a day or so, but he doubted that was the case, after all they hadn't been that cruel to even Apophis, which was extraordinarily unexpected, he had been their worst enemy never seeming to die. But then they had known that Apophis was like he was from the beginning, not five years later.

Daniel mentally kicked himself for his stupidity, even after hundreds of years of life he still made idiotic mistakes, but then at least he had told them. Something he hadn't done in a few years, or if he was honest very often at all in the past several hundred years, it was always too likely that something like this would happen, or someone would try to kill him, try being the operative word. He hated, absolutely LOATHED lying about it, before it had become necessary he hadn't felt like a traitor to his family and friends, and he hated feeling like that. His mother had always taught him to be proud of his family and never to deny that they were that and yet years later he had found himself forced to do so. After this, he promised himself he would introduce himself as either Alastair or Daniel Jackson, nothing else, it would never feel right to call himself anything else, not after this. Daniel glanced at the bars that formed one wall of the cell wondering if he would be left to rot, which in his personal opinion wouldn't be very nice. He could think of a lot of better ways to spend his time.

The sound of a key in the lock pulled him out of his thoughts as he turned his gaze to see who it was. The door opened allowing a young airman to enter bearing a tray of food. Carefully the young, Lieutenant, placed the tray on the floor and unlocked the door to the part of the room that Daniel was held in, never once taking his eyes off Daniel as he then bent down and picked up the tray and placed it on the floor inside the cell before turning closing and locking the cell door and leaving the room. Daniel looked at the tray on the floor for a long time deciding if he was hungry enough to eat the unrecognisable lumps of 'food' that had been placed on it. Frowning at the tray Daniel decided that the food would taste better now than it would if he left it to get any cooler than it was. Of course there were ways he could reheat it, but he didn't feel like going into that, not unless he felt like being a total and complete idiotic fool. Which he didn't? Standing he wandered over to it and picked it up carrying it back to the bed, as the floor was cold. There wasn't a knife and fork to eat it all with but a very breakable looking plastic spoon, which would be fun to use. Prodding each offering with a finger he finally worked out that some of it was supposed to be mash potato, the only thing still warm, while the rest of it offered not a hint to what it was. Deciding to eat the stuff that he knew was edible, and warm, he slowly disposed of the potato before placing the tray on the floor and pushing it towards the door.

With a heavy sigh he lent back against the wall and closed his eyes. Locked in a cell there were only a few things you could do. One was eat whatever was brought, the next was do your business in the pot, something Daniel decided was a last resort, another was sleep, which it was more than a little possible to do too much of, then you could talk to yourself, another non-agreeable idea to him, and the last was wait, wait for the people watching to come talk to you while you sat silently on a metal bunk. With a groan he rested his head against the wall behind him. It was so frustrating to think that he had trusted them only to be locked away and forgotten, because he had been protecting them as well as himself, if anyone of the people hunting him ever found out that they knew him, they would use them to get to him, like before.

Daniel silently drew his legs up in front of him and lent his head on his knees, wrapping his arms around his lower legs as guilt filled him, guilt over things that had happened, were happening and would happen. He felt better hating himself for it all; blaming himself it was better that way.


	2. P2

**Part Two **

Explode

Ease your trouble

We'll pay them double

Not to look at you for a while

And you can rely on

What you get high on

And you last just as long as it serves you

Explode or implode

Explode or implode

We will take care of it

Yes, we will carry you

'Cause you're deserted

What's good, you hurt it

And kills you it keeps you alive

So give it up

In a world of puppets

It's a shame what they do to us all

Can we do anything for you now?

Jack O'Neill sat at the table in the base's commissary pushing uneaten carrots around his plate with his fork his mood clear to all who thought about approaching to offer company. Company that was normally provided by a certain, to go unnamed, archaeologist. Teal'c solemnly took the seat across from his commanding officer and friend a worried look on his face, or at least the best worried look that the Jaffa could show.

"I do not believe that you should behave as you are doing O'Neill. The carrots on your serving dish appear to be cold, perhaps you should return to the serving hatch for more." Jack looked up at his friend for a few moments before glancing down at his plate to inspect the carrots.

"Yeah, they look it." Teal'c frowned at his friend and opened his mouth to replace his words with more suitable ones only to be silenced by a look from the colonel. "I get your point Teal'c, it's just," Jack hesitated running a hand through his almost totally grey hair. "It's hard to believe that we never, before now, I mean you'd think it would be obvious wouldn't you?" Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps, though if the Tok'ra are correct that Daniel Jackson has been invaded by some thing then we would not have known, before." Jack looked at the larger man both eyebrows raised.

"Oh yeah, everything's that simple, the answers always under our noses. Like the Ashen thing, it was there but we didn't think to look until you and Danny found those papers. I even sent myself a goddamned note. It would all be so easy IF the Tok'ra were ALWAYS right, but what if they aren't? What if Danny's been keeping it a secret for God only knows how long and has just gotten that good at it that we never realized? What if that IS the truth, what then T?" The strain showed in Jack's voice as well as anger, which was also carried in his gaze as he locked eyes with Teal'c's slamming a fist onto the table, "We going to keep him locked away up stairs, to be forgotten, or are we going to let Simmions and his crones drag him off to some secret project, or the third, most likely option, are the Tok'ra going to take him off to God knows were and get information that would help them AND us from him in less than nice ways and not tell us any of it? What if they know something we don't? After all they always have some hidden agenda or other that we never know about until it's too late. They are always keeping things from us, what if they've known all along? Well Teal'c you going to see this the same way as I am or are you going to take their side on this?" Teal'c remained seated his bearing purposely stiff and unaffected while his eyes shone with anger and distaste directed towards his friend.

"O'Neill I do not believe you have been in control of your feelings or actions for some time. I agree with you on your views about the Tok'ra, as you ARE well aware. I also share your feelings on the matter that is presently on many of our minds, that of the revelation given to us by Daniel Jackson, a man whom we have treated as a trusted friend and college for many years, which may be due to alien incursions, or be as simple a fact as the truth, finally revealed to us due to resent events." Teal'c's tone carried a message to Jack as well as his words did, with a resigned sigh Jack lent back in his chair and rested his head on his hands.

"Sorry, it's just, the general's ordered me to begin questioning the 'prisoner', I hate him for lying but God, I trusted him more than anyone else, even you sometimes. He knows things about me that very few others do, because I thought he WAS who we thought he was. If the Tok'ra are wrong, if this isn't anything to do with anything from off-world, if it's true, I don't know what I'm going to do." Teal'c nodded in understanding before standing.

"Perhaps I should accompany you O'Neill." Jack gave Teal'c the best smile he had to offer and stood accepting the offer wholeheartedly.

Jack nodded to the airmen on guard outside of the cell standing to one side as they unlocked the outer door before stepping into the dimly lit room. As the door closed behind him and Teal'c, Jack allowed time for his eyes to adjust to the light before turning his attention to the man laid out on the cell's bottom bunk. Blue eyes were fixed on the bottom of the upper bunk. Jack pulled himself up to his full height not allowing himself to see the man as anything other than a prisoner, anything but his most trusted friend. Jack stood searching for the right thing to say only to be given an invitation by the prisoner.

"Ask anything, whatever you want to know, but mind I don't know everything and there are things I can't tell you." Daniel's voice was soft across the distance but it was still loud enough for them to here. Teal'c straightened raising an eyebrow and glancing at Jack, telling him that it was time to start, and to forget the personal feelings he had towards the other man.

"Fine I can understand that. First off what's your real name, it saves the effort." Blue eyes turned towards him for a few moments before returning to their original position.

"My FIRST real name is Alastair, my second you know, they are my names." Daniel's voice was blank, controlled. Jack raised his chin, jaw tightening.

"Okay, secondly where were you born?" This question gained him a second glance, and a vaguely humoured smile that surprised him.

"In Ireland, a small village in the west, by the side of a hill, well by the side of Nephin Beg near the Oweniny River." Jack blinked startled by the answer, he knew of the area, he had been expecting the name of a place he had never heard of. Swiftly composing himself he moved on to another question.

"Know of the area, how old were you when your parents died, your real parents?" A few moments of silence passed before an answer came.

"Nine when my mother died, twelve when my father did." Jack raised an eyebrow.

"How did they die?" The more personal the questions the better.

"They were killed, by raiders." The answer was bland telling of nothing more than the basic facts. The basic facts shocked both Jack and Teal'c as was shown by the look exchanged by them.

"Do you, or did you have any siblings?" Blue eyes looked at him for a long moment as though asking him were he was going.

"Four sisters and a brother, one of my sisters died with our mother, another and my brother died with my father, they were the eldest." The answer surprised Jack and made him wonder what, if the story was true, life had been like for the young boy.

"What did your parents do?"

"My father was a blacksmith, my mother a healer." Jack raised an eyebrow at Teal'c deciding that the other man might have some questions. Teal'c nodded an acceptance and turned his attention to the 'prisoner'.

"What were the name's of your parents?" Blue eyes shifted once more, this time towards Teal'c rather than Jack.

"Jason and Ilsbeth and before you ask my elder brother's name was Liam, his twin was Hazel, they were sixteen years older than me, then there was Cera, my elder sister by eleven years, then Jessica, four years older and my younger sister Mary, by four years." The ages and names were reeled off swiftly not one catching in Daniel's throat. Teal'c and Jack looked at each other eyebrows raised, it wasn't fair when the game was know. It was time to change the way they were running. They looked at each other trying to think of some questions to ask, it was hard to think of any, if it wasn't an alien entity then they didn't have all that many questions that they wanted to ask. After all experience from one of the Tauri wouldn't help in the on going battle that they and their allies were fighting, out there. Teal'c's frown lifted slightly telling Jack that he had a question. Nodding for him to continue Jack turned his attention back to their prisoner.

"Before the mission to Abydos had you ever previously used the StarGate?" Jack nodded, it was a good question.

"No, that was the first time." Jack's eyebrows raised a little further.

"Where you on Earth when the people of Egypt rebelled against the Goa'uld?" There was a pregnant pause during which Jack shifted uncomfortably becoming annoyed with the basic answers that didn't help beyond answering the question.

"Yes." Great now it was turning into a yes, no, question and answer session, not a good sign. Giving Teal'c a quiet look that told him that they were going to leave it there for the time being until they had some helpful questions to ask. Teal'c nodded and walked over to the door knocking on it to tell the guards that they were ready to leave. Jack unable to stop himself stepped up to the bars giving the man laid on the bunk his best cold glare.

"We'll be back to finish this." The words held more than just that one simple message but they gained no reaction from the man they had been directed at. Jack turned on his heel and stalked from the room his demeanour showing his annoyance and distaste. How could he never have seen it before?

Sam Carter knocked lightly on Jack's office door before walking in. Her blue eyes took in the other two members of her team as she slid into her usual seat in front of her CO's desk. It had been a long day for her, talking to her father about what the possible causes for what Daniel had said could be, avoiding the idea that it could be the truth, not some alien influenced thing, and then helping Janet go over all of Daniel's tests results, all of which had shown no difference at anytime other than the times they knew the causes of it, like when they had returned from the land of the light, with the touched virus. Or when Daniel had been suffering from sarcophagus withdrawal. It was frustrating because she didn't even want to begin thinking about it being real, that it had always been there, and she had a feeling that the other two were feeling the same way. Daniel had always seemed to be, well Daniel Jackson, a good, supportive, kind, gentle young archaeologist, never anything else. It was hard to even think that he could have been 'possessed' for a lack of a better word, for some time and they hadn't noticed, surely they should have noticed it?

Shaking her head to get rid of the thoughts that were presently running though her head she looked from one to the other hoping they had gotten something worth while from their questioning session.

"Sir?" Her voice was soft and worn, telling them, as well as her paler than normal complexion did, that she had had a long reward less day. Jack looked at her for a long time before answering.

"No better than you got I'll guess, couldn't really think of much to ask to be honest. Your dad's taking a shot tomorrow isn't he?" Sam nodded sadly meeting her friend's eyes.

"Yeah, but it's not looking good is it?" Her voice displayed the feelings felt by all of them, hopelessness and betrayal mixed with anger and lethargy.

"Indeed it is not." Teal'c rumbled blandly, his eyes fixed upon one of the photos on the colonel's desk, a snap of SG-1, Janet Fraiser and her adopted daughter Cassandra that had been taken at one of the colonel's barbecue's a year before. They were all smiling, due to a joke that general Hammond had told them as he prepared to take the picture, they were close enough together that they were all touching shoulders with at least one of the others, a sign of their closeness. It was hard to think that it had never occurred to them, any of them, that a year on they might be facing something like this, something that was so close to destroying their belief in an important part of their group.

"I believe you should get some rest Major Carter." Teal'c gave her a concerned look as he spoke waiting for any argument from the young woman. Instead she nodded stifling a yawn with her hand as she stood and headed towards the door. Stopping just before she left she turned back to face Jack,

"We didn't see it either sir, whatever it is you can't have been expected to notice. You can't always see things as soon as it's there." With that she turned and headed off towards her quarters to get some rest. Or at least as much rest as she could get.

Daniel Jackson rubbed his left arm wincing as his hand pressed too hard on the bandaged area were the shark thing had bitten him, which had been hampering his arm movement since the day it had been put on. He then carefully ran tentative fingers over his bandaged right side checking for any blood spots, knowing that if there were any he would have to be taken to the infirmary sooner or later to have them changed. Which wasn't a very nice thought, it was bad enough to know that at least four people were watching him from time to time through that damned security camera. He badly needed to relive himself but was still unwilling to allow them the fun of his embarrassment. The SGC security personal where well known for their habits of telling everyone about peoples bad habits or embracing moments. He didn't feel like having any more talk about him wandering the grape vine.

The questioning session had been awful, he had wanted to answer them with longer, better answers, but he knew that it wasn't the best thing to do, he was willing, but there were things you should only tell a person if you're sure that they won't use it against you, something he wasn't so sure about with them anymore, not that he blamed them for what they had done after he had told them. It was only fair after he had been lying to them for a long long time. Which he regretted and probably would for however long he lived. The sound of the door opening to once more admit visitors he pulled himself up right to face the on coming question and answer session.

Jacob Carter, Anise/Freya, Teal'c, Sam and Jack entered the room every one of them looking grim and uncaring. Not a good sign, though the questions would no doubt be very interesting to attempt to answer. Especially if they were questions he couldn't answer, about non-earth matters, very few pieces of USEFUL information came to mind for the answer to that kind of question. Before the Stargate program he hadn't ever really been anywhere off world that often. Once or twice, but he couldn't remember much about those few times, and it hadn't been using the Stargate system, he had only heard stories about such things until he had met Catherine Langford six years before. And then there was the problem that there were questions he could know the answer, but wouldn't be able to answer due to his own promises and in order to protect them, not that they would probably take that as an answer.

It was hard not to look at them, not to beg them for forgiveness, for them to forget that he had said anything, to say that he had been lying, but he didn't want to, he wanted them to know the truth, no matter what their reaction to it was. They should have known from the beginning. They SHOULD have known. How could he have let it get so far?

Jacob Carter stepped forward having been named chief interrogator for this round of questioning. He knew as well as anyone what this was doing to the group that had once been SG-1. The likely hood that one of their number, their 'conscience' as O'Neill had once called the 'young' archaeologist could be someone they didn't truly know, that they had never known him that it had all been an act. A play to gain their trust and everything they knew. That he could be a traitor.

"Forgive me if I don't waste time on niceties but there are some matters that need to be cleared up. Matters which are causing some unrest in this base." None of them saw the self-damnation that crossed Daniel's face as he starred blankly at the top bunk. It was bad enough knowing it without being told that, without any of the pleasantries, everyone's shocked and applauded by you, it sounded like the kind of thing your parents would say when they found out you had stolen something. And Daniel hadn't stolen anything or at least as far as he knew he hadn't stolen anything. But then they didn't know that did they? Maybe they thought he was some guy who had STOLEN Daniel Jackson's identity or something. Which he hadn't, even the thought of something so cruel made him feel sick, mentally.

"We have some questions to ask, all of which we expect to be answered. Do you understand that?" Daniel desperately wanted to get up walk over to the bars stare Jacob straight in the eyes and say, _'I understand, but I CAN'T possibly answer ALL of your questions if I don't know the answers to them. Why can't you all believe me when I say I am who I am, not some spy sent to watch you and ruin everything. For one thing I haven't done a very good job have I? If that's what I am, I mean I've helped a hell of a lot more than I've hindered', but instead he stayed where he was by pure will alone and answered as politely as he could._

"I understand." Short and simple. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jacob nodded and took a deep breath deciding on a question with which he could start.

"Why Lie?" The simplest question that would no doubt have the most complicated answer.

"Why? Because I doubt very much you would have believed me if I had told the truth, plus there's the fact there'd be people who would want to run tests on me, and then there's the fact that if anyone of the people on Earth could want to kill me. Not an option that anyone would enjoy." Daniel winced mentally at the blandness of his own voice. He so wanted to tell them everything, but that would no doubt take six years either that or they wouldn't believe him. Like they didn't believe that he was telling the truth.

Jacob raised an eyebrow glancing at the others before moving onto the next question on his mental list.

"Were you aware of the existence of the Goa'uld prior to joining the StarGate project?"

"Yes, I was." _Yeah, unfortunately, I met some of them. _Jack clenched his fists angry that he hadn't said before. That his friend had known before he had. That his friend hadn't warned them. "But they weren't called the Goa'uld then, at least not here, the people of Egypt thought them to be gods, so did a lot of other people at the time, those who didn't called them 'Kel'tar'." The addition to the answer startled them all, having expected nothing more than a short answer.

"Where were you at the time of the rebellion?" Daniel couldn't help it he had to look at Jacob to know what he looked like, to see if he cared. To see if any of them cared anymore. The answer was yes, but they were trying to hide it from him.

"I was in the, I was in Egypt." He had almost used the old name for Egypt, the dynastic realm. Jacob looked startled by his answer, which didn't surprise him, after all he hadn't known that the StarGate had been real. But he had been there. He could remember the faces of the rebellions leaders as though it had only been yesterday. "I wasn't in Giza though." Jacob raised an eyebrow unimpressed by the other man's answer.

"Then where were you?" The question had to be asked, because, after all this time the answer would tell them if he were a coward or not, if he followed the Goa'uld or not.

"In Abydos." Another simple answer without extras. But it told Jacob and Anise enough for them to know that he didn't follow the Goa'uld, perhaps. Anise frowned looking to Jacob for permission to ask a few of her own questions.

"How have you been able to live for so long?" The question surprised Daniel, and he stiffened unconsciously, gaze returning to the floor. He knew that that was one question he couldn't answer, not that he didn't know the answer, he just couldn't answer it. Not without putting them in danger. He shook his head in a negative movement and signed heavily.

"I can't tell you." He didn't need to look up to know what Jack's reaction would be, he knew already, and hated himself all the more for it. It wasn't fair as it was that Sam, Jack, Teal'c, Janet and the general hadn't known from the beginning, god, not even Catherine knew.

This week was just getting worse and worse by the minute.

"Well that got us a long way!" The anger in jack's voice startled the others as they watched him pace the briefing room running a hand through his hair as though it would make a difference to something. They all felt the same. After spending an hour questioning the prisoner the man they had known as Daniel Jackson they had gained little other than very short very uninformative answers beyond those gained in the first few minutes. It had all gone down hill form the moment Jacob had asked if 'Daniel' could tell them how he had lived so long, if he indeed had.

"Look Jack this isn't going to make any difference to what's happening." Jacob's voice was soft, controlled despite his own feeling of the pointlessness of the answers they had gained in past few days, if it had even been that long. It seemed like an eternity had pasted since Daniel Jackson had admitted that he wasn't who they thought they were, kind of. It was the kind of bit that was bothering Jacob. He had seen the photos of the young Doctor Jackson in the file that he had been presented with the night of the revelation. It didn't seem possible that he could be as old as he said he was and BE Daniel Jackson, not with having pictures of him as a child. It just wasn't possible.

Suddenly he smiled, why hadn't he seen it before. It was so clear it had been placed on the table in front of him yet he hadn't even thought that it could be evidence in the Tok'ra's view. That Doctor Jackson had been possessed. It was the only answer.

"I've just thought of something," The words caught Jack's attention instantly his eyes meeting Jacob's searching for proof that he hadn't been seeing a lie for six years. "There are photos of Daniel as a child." That one simple question brought a smile to the faces of the members of the SGC in the room as they were finally given a last straw of hope. Hope that it would all just get back to normal once they had helped their friend though what ever was wrong with him. That Daniel Jackson hadn't been lying to them for years, hadn't been betraying their trust.

Daniel sighed heavily staring at the bars that kept him in the small cell. The same cell in which Sam had been held in when Jolinar had possessed her. The same cell in which she had very nearly died.

The thought of how he had felt at that moment, and in so many similar ones during the past six years echoing in his mind. How could he have kept the lie alive for so long. With a groan he pushed himself upright. How long could he put up with lying in the same Goddamn place, thinking in the same Goddamn circle, not being able to do a Goddamn thing about it, before he would snap. Or maybe that was the whole point. Daniel blinked frowning at his own thoughts. Of course that was the point. Shaking his head he idly regarded the tray that had brought in half an hour before deciding that he wasn't quiet that hungry. His eyes drifted in the direction of the bucket and he winced feeling sick at the thought of relieving himself in front of the SF's that were no doubt watching. But there was another option. Smiling to himself, knowing that the action would give him just about enough time to relive himself without being watched or walking in on Daniel picked the blanket up off the bed and placed it over the camera's lens before swiftly moving to the bucket.

"I'm sorry sir but the tests have come up clear." _Like they had done the last time_ Janet's voice was resigned as she admitted that no more evidence had been found to back up the Tok'ra's theory that Daniel had been possessed. Janet doubted that running the same tests for a third time would make any difference. It was frustrating to think there was nothing she could find that could possibly explain the young man's behaviour. His admission.

Yeah, that was exactly what it had been, an admission that he had lied to him. It had been Daniel talking to them not some weird entity, not a ghost inhabiting their friend's body, they just didn't want to admit it. Didn't want to have to face it, didn't want to hear the truth. Even if in truth it was all they had wanted to know for the past six years, the truth. The only thing they had never thought of was what it would cost them to know more about their mysterious young friend who was always doing something that they wouldn't have expected him to be capable of. The truth behind the man. The price was starting to seem too high. The answer to a simple question wasn't worth it. Wasn't worth the broken trust, the broken friendship and the hatred and denial. But it was out now, and none of them had anyway to change that, no matter how hard they might wish for one.

Janet shook her head as she took in the faces of the remaining free member of SG-1, seeing the wariness and need for it to all have been some stupid joke, that their friend hadn't betrayed them. Signs of just how deep the pain went, in all of them, not just in Jack O'Neill.

Daniel held his hands in the air as the guards entered the main area of the cell moving to remove the cause of their visit from the camera. It had been close but he'd managed it, just about. Which was a good thing, as he doubted he would be allowed to do the same thing again. Silently he pushed the sheet through the bars and backed away to sit back down on the bunk. He watched as they slowly moved forwards and picked up the sheet their nervousness apparent. Something he wouldn't have expected to see on the faces of the people within the SGC ever. If anything it just made him doubt his decision, after taking it as far as he had why tell them? Why ruin what had taken years to build up? Because it was the right thing to do, that was why he had done it, he hated lies and all the things that accompanied them. The truth was hard enough as it was without that.

Colonel Frank Simmons looked up as a sergeant entered his office carrying a port folio.

"Can I help you Sergeant?" The NID agents voice was cold as he spoke to the man, expecting an answer. The young man held the folio out to his senior officer ignoring the glare he was being entreated with.

"I was told you bring you this, it's the latest report from Cheyenne mountain." A vague smile graced Simmons's features as he took the folder waving the airman out and opening the file.

After reading the first few lines he smiled knowing just what he could do to help the SGC out with their latest problem. Get rid of it.

Jack O'Neill paced the floor of his office once again becoming bored with the pattern that was beginning to develop. The whole QA followed by the pacing up and down of office floors and guesses on how such and such was or wasn't possible and so on in never ending circles. Why couldn't this damn thing be over and done with all ready? _Because nothing is ever that simple._ Between them none of them, not the other members of the SGC, not the Tok'ra, could think of anything which would explain any of it, or any thing at all besides pictures, which could in this day and age so easily be faked, to back up the Tok'ra theory. A theory that, despite what it would mean, he would prefer to the idea that this was just some home truth, something that had been waiting for the right time to air. He wasn't willing to believe that. And somehow he doubted the other two members of SG-1 were either.

Simmons moved through the SGC knowing that the guards wouldn't be expecting him, as far as the SGC knew he didn't know about this latest adventure. But of course he was about to prove them wrong. The colonel smiled as he glanced down at the unconscious airman at his feet and pulled his gun out of it's holster before calmly unlocking the door to the cell. It was time to end the only real hindrance in the civilian quarter of the SGC. For good.

Teal'c stood in front of the window over looking the StarGate alone, having been unable to reach his normal state of Kel'noreem. Which hadn't surprised him. For the past few days he had had far too many thought and doubts drifting around his head to be able to do anything much but focus on acting normal, though he had no doubt that his friends had noticed that he wasn't ok with it all. Normally in this sort of situation it would have been Daniel Jackson himself who would have helped Teal'c deal with what was happening, something that still surprised the ex-first prime, after the hand he had had in his friend's wife's fate. It had always seemed odd that the man hadn't gone against him, hated him for it all. Teal'c sighed shaking his head before turning and heading back to his quarters, he needed at least some rest, even if it didn't turn out to be much. Tomorrow would be another day as the Tauri saying went.

Daniel looked up as his latest visitor entered, surprised to find himself faced with not a member of the Tok'ra or the SGC, but with the unfriendly face of Colonel Simmons. Shifting his weight he sat up frowning at the NID agent, knowing only too well that the man's arrival was so not a good thing.

Simmons smiled coldly as he walked up to the bars his gun held openly in his hand. A clear sign of the reason he had come. "Well, well, what do we have here? I know, a traitor. I'm soo sorry about this Doctor Jackson but our relationship is, it seems, at an end."

Daniel stood, hands clenching into fists at his side, defiantly meeting Simmons' gaze. "This is not over Colonel, you will not get away with this, or anything else, I shall see to that." He kept his voice soft, and the meaning of his words purposely clear. It wasn't going to be that easy, one shot would not end it all. The other man laughed shaking his head mockingly and taking aim.

"I doubt you'll be able to live up to that Doctor." The gun's report echoed in the small space of the cell room, and Daniel crumpled bonelessly to the floor. Dead.


	3. P3 the end

**Part Three**

Erase/Rewind

Hey, what did you hear me say  
you know the difference it makes  
what did you hear me say  
Yes, I said it's fine before  
I don't think so no more  
I said it's fine before  
I've changed my mind  
I take it back  
Erase and rewind  
'cause I've been changing my mind

I've changed my mind

So where did you see me go

It's not the right way,

You know

Where did you see me go

No, it's not that I don't know

I just don't want it to grow

It's not that I don't know

I've changed my mind

I take it all back

"It's the prisoner sirs," The airman spoke hurriedly to the group that was gathered in the briefing room, nervous of the reaction that his news would no doubt receive. "Colonel Simmons got past the guards, and he shot Doctor Ja, I mean the prisoner. The prisoner was taken to the infirmary as soon as he was found, but, I'm afraid he was more or less dead already." Having said his piece the airman turned and fled unwilling to face the wrath of his senior officers. General Hammond grimly nodded to his CMO knowing what she was about to ask. She would want to be in the infirmary doing what ever she could in the circumstances. The young woman swiftly moved past the others out of the room shutting the door as she did so.

Jack O'Neill growled his anger and concern clear to every other person in the room. "How the hell did the NID find out, and where the hell is that bastard Simmons now?" The questions drifted in the air unanswered for a few moments before Hammond made his way to the door and had a quick conversation with the SF out side.

"Those are questions that the answers to will be found, you have my promise on that Jack." The general answered looking at each of the surviving member of SG-1 in turn. The sound of Sam Carter's voice startled them all out of their personal thoughts and considerations.

"What if the Tok'ra where right, what if, Daniel's dead and the Tok'ra where right. I mean how could we," Her voice faded as she stopped mid sentence biting on her bottom lip and starring at the floor. She couldn't think straight, couldn't decide whether or not she had been right to express her feelings out loud. Teal'c looked around at those standing in the room, his feelings clear.

"I do not believe Colonel Simmons should be allowed to escape retribution for his actions, whether the Tok'ra where correct or not." Jack nodded grimly in agreement suddenly realising how much Daniel really meant to him, even if the Tok'ra were wrong and the guy had been telling the truth, he had still been a friend to them, it didn't really matter who he was. Not in the long run. Simmons wasn't going to get away with it. Not as long as there was still breath in his body.

Janet Fraiser gasped as she spotted Simmons' victim laid out on a gurney, clearly untouched by any of the base's medical staff since 'his' arrival. The reason was clear as she took in the gun shot wound. 'He' had been dead as soon as Simmons' had pulled the trigger. Blood was still running sluggishly from the remains of the man's chest, a stark contrast to the pale blue tinged white of his skin.

Janet squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that had started to fill her eyes at the sight, pain gripping her as full realisation hit her. Her friend was really truly dead this time. He had been her friend, it didn't matter if he was really Daniel Jackson or not, it was the man not the name that mattered.

A pained sob escaped her as she stood frozen to the spot, forcing her to move away into her office so as not to break down right there where everyone and anyone would be able to see. Words that she had heard but barely comprehended as she had stood there echoed in her mind the final straw that had been used to snap her carefully placed shields. Dr Warner's words, "Better take the body down to the morgue before any of them get here, make it look descent." Cold words to describe a dear friend and comrade now dead mocking her, 'it', 'the body', it didn't seem right it had barely been an hour yet already he had been forgotten by everyone but a few. It wasn't fair he had been a good and descent man, who had died because he had finally decided to come clean, tell the full truth, end the deceit. But he was dead.

Tears flowed from her eyes as she hugged herself moving back further into her corner, hidden from any one who would try to find her, tell her it would be all right. Lie to her.

Gentle arms seemed to come from nowhere and pull her in against a firm chest in a warm comforting embrace. One full of reassurance that everything would be fine. But it wouldn't. She knew it wouldn't. One arm moved to allow it's owner to place a hand on her chin and push her head up so as to force her to look into their eyes. Fawn brown eyes widened in shock as they met deep azure ones so unbelievably familiar.

"My god, what, this isn't, you can't be," A finger on her lips silenced her as sorrowful blue eyes locked her gaze. Disbelief filled her as she stared at the impossible.

Jack stood unable to hold back his need to see the body of his friend any longer, barely aware that Sam and Teal'c were doing the very same thing. He glanced at the general and gained a nod of permission and understanding as he moved towards the door, unaware that he was slowly speeding up, his body working without any command from his shock slowed brain.

Daniel couldn't be dead, it just didn't happen. Daniel Jackson didn't die. Couldn't die.

The call from Dr Warner, telling them that the Daniel had been dead on arrival wasn't true, it wasn't. When he walked into the infirmary Daniel would be sat up in his bed smiling, he wouldn't just be some lifeless corpse. It didn't happen like that. Not ever.

Simmons smiled to himself as he stood in the lift as it carried him the final few metres to the surface and freedom. It was over, the civilians' at the SGC wouldn't be a problem anymore, no not after they heard what had happened to Dr Jackson. No, he would just have to find a way to get rid of the other problems, or maybe not, after all with Dr Jackson dead O'Neill would retire, Major Carter would fall back into grace, the alien would leave and eventually the General would retire. He had killed all the birds with just one bullet.

His smile faded as the doors opened and he found himself face to face with a group pf SF's, the triumph no longer seeming so great. After all, it couldn't be a perfect crime if you got caught.

Janet stared into those deep blue eyes, barely believing that the man who's gentle arm was encircling her waist was real. That it was possible for a dead man to be warm and to be breathing.

"I'm real Janet. This isn't a dream. I promise you I am not dead." His voice was as gentle as ever, his eyes backing up the tone of his voice. Suddenly she started to cry again, but for joy instead of grief. Daniel was alive and well, he wasn't a corpse, Simmons hadn't killed him. He was alive. Daniel pulled her in for another hug whispering an apology into her hair making her giggle despite herself.

"I, I can't believe it's really you, that you're, alive. I saw you on he gurney and you looked, dead." he smiled nodding as he used a tissue to wipe her cheeks.

"I know, but it's ok. I'm okay. Don't worry Janet, I'm fine." She frowned as she ran a hand over his chest shaking her head confusing causing her to frown heavily.

"I don't get it, I saw, your chest, all that blood, how can you be alive?" She looked into his eyes, starting when he looked away at the floor.

"It's, well, it's complicated, and I mean really complicated. And really hard to explain with out being, well down right cruel." The clear honesty in his voice deepened her frown and she opened her mouth to question him.

"We came as soon as, what the? Warner said, how can?" Jack O'Neill's voice startled the pair destroying the moment as Daniel automatically pulled himself up right to face his best friend.

"Jack, I," Jack held up a hand staring at his friend his astonishment clear.

"Warner said that you died Danny, he TOLD us that you were dead." Daniel blushed slightly meeting his friend's gaze as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah well, I WAS dead for a little while but, I'm not now." Daniel watched his friends' reactions as Teal'c and Sam had also overheard the comment that by all rights made no sense what so ever.

"What?" Sam's voice was weak as though the comment had merely brushed her, not really sinking in, her brain denying the words. _'I was dead'_, Janet blinked eyes travelling down to the tops of his trousers where the bloodstains were clear, bloodstains that hardly seemed to end anywhere, the true colour of the trousers barely noticeable at all.

"I did die, but, well, it never lasts long, God that sounds bad but there you go. I died, my body healed I woke up. Cold as it sounds that's what happened." They all stared at him shocked at what he had just said and the bland tone of voice in which he had spoken.

"That is not possible Daniel Jackson." Teal'c's voice showed his confusion and his relief as well as his eyes. Blue eyes looked at him for a while as Daniel seemed to consider his answer.

"Yeah, you'd think it was wouldn't you? But it is, believe me, after all if it wasn't I would have died, oh, 5661 years ago, when I was 36. But I didn't. And here we are." Looked at them clearly spotting the doubt in their minds as he signed heavily, "I'm an immortal, I'm exactly, five thousand, six hundred and ninety-seven years old, give or take a few months, weeks and days. I haven't aged, well I haven't 'technically' aged a day since I died for the first time when I was thirty-six. It's complicated, but that's the basics." Daniel watched seeing the same reactions he had seen before he smiled idly remembering his own shock when Hannah had informed that she was an immortal. It had been scary to think that his wife and best friend was immortal while he wasn't, not that that had been true, he just hadn't known at the time.

"Look I know how hard it is to believe but it's the truth, hell you can shot me if you really don't believe me, through I wouldn't thank you for it. Immortal or no, dying hurts." Jack was staring at him, searching his eyes for any suggestion that it was all a lie. Seeing none Jack sagged tiredly into the nearest chair running a hand through his hair feeling his age.

"God Danny, why didn't you tell us before? Why wait, why make us go through all of this?" He heard his friend sigh and waited for the answer that he knew would be coming,

"I didn't mean for you to go through all of this Jack, I don't know why I waited so long to tell you either, it's just, normally that leads to being killed or locked away or tortured, never anything nice. I wish I had told you sooner, it just never seemed like the right time." The soft hesitant tone told him that his friend had indeed hated lying but hadn't, as he had said before, had much choice. Jack sighing nodding his understanding and glancing at the other 'mortals' in the room.

"I think we all need time o take this in, maybe you should," Jack hesitated realising he had about to tell his friend to go back to the cell and hating that he had doubted his friend that much, after all the time they had known each other, "go to one of the VIP rooms and wait for us to come get you?" Looking up he gained a slight smile from the other man who nodded and turned to leave, hesitating for a moment and turning back to them,

"I am sorry guys, really, and I promise there will be no more secrets, ask anything you want and I'll give you an answer. And I'll go with an SF, save you a bit of effort." Teal'c inclined his head in understanding while the others nodding watching as their friend left, unsure of how to take the revelation that he was an immortal. Someone who shouldn't by all rights exist.

General Hammond found himself staring at his second in command not believing that the man had said what he just had. Doctor Jackson was an immortal? Which was what when one was at home? Weren't they supposed to be myths? Listening to the Tok'ra's surprise that Doctor Jackson was an immortal George had a feeling that the Tok'ra had known that immortals were real, but just hadn't quite gotten round to telling the Tauri about them yet, like so many other things. The fact was, he found himself beginning to believe the same as his second in command, that the Tok'ra couldn't be trusted to tell them anything, unless they had to. Glancing at his old friend Jacob he raised an eyebrow gaining an apologetic smile.

"The Tok'ra knew of the existence of the immortals, we just didn't think they were still around, or at least if they were that one would appear here. I mean since the death of Hannah-Danielle, none of them have ever shown they're faces and admitted to being immortal, she was killed for that, for being 'unnatural'. Her husband was the one who forced the others to hide, personally I think the guy had sense, if one immortal can be murdered for being 'unnatural' what was to stop the same happening to the rest of them. But it's possible." Jack raised an eyebrow his annoyance clear,

"So you didn't think to tell us when Danny came out with the whole 'I've lived over five thousand years' thing? Or was it just denial that he'd been under your noses the whole time?"

Jacob winced at the younger man's tone of voice,

"It didn't seem possible that Danny was an immortal Jack, I mean immortals aren't, well, but it this way, if you're an immortal and you can't defend yourself, you're a mortal immortal, if you get my meaning." Teal'c raised an eyebrow and met the other man's gaze steadily,

"You your self have witnessed that Daniel Jackson is capable of defending himself Jacob Carter, so there for your argument does not work. I believe it is possible that what Daniel Jackson says is the truth, if the Tok'ra also know of the immortals."

Sam nodded her agreement, "Teal'c's right, I mean Daniel has always been able to defend himself, he just doesn't always see the need to." Jacob sighed as through he had been hoping that the conversation would have moved past the stage it was at.

"Yeah, the thing is, the Tok'ra don't really know much more than you do about immortals, I mean we know some basics but, not really enough to be able to suggest it." Jacob shrugged, "Sometimes it's better to think the worst and be right than think the best and be wrong, if you know what I mean, besides the Tok'ra can't take being wrong." Sam smiled tiredly at her father,

"So it is possible that what Daniel said is true?" Jacob smiled nodding,

"In fact I would say more than likely Danny was telling the truth, especially with the evidence, Dr Warner looked down right scared to hear that there's a dead man walking around the place." Jack raised an eyebrow,

"Dr Warner? Come on, I thought my best friend was dead only to find him alive and well talking to Doc Fraiser!" General Hammond smiled before deciding to break up the meeting and let SG-1 entertain the idea that their 'conscience' was immortal and older than any of them.

"Right, you're all free to go, though I will expect to see you all and Doctor Jackson back here by this time tomorrow."

General Hammond walked into the holding room and met the man's gaze with his own icy blue one.

"I expect you understand where this goes from here Colonel?" Simmons' eyes narrowed and he sneered at his superior officer,

"I do General, though I doubt I'll get the sentence you want, this isn't over yet." General Hammond raised an eyebrow at the younger man, he knew it was hoping for too much that the man would get at least a life sentence, he would most likely only get ten to twelve years, after Kinsey had had his way the jury and the judge.

"I'm aware of that Colonel, but there is one thing that I DO know. If you ever step foot in this base again, I can not be held responsible for what Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c might do to you, let alone Major Carter." Smiling with satisfaction George turned away happy that he had been able to have one last word with the man who had tried to kill a member of his flag ship team.

Moments before the door opened Colonel Simmons spoke, voice soft,

"We shall see General, we shall see."

Daniel groaned as he opened his eyes wearily shading his eyes from the brightness of the light with one arm. "What's going on? Is everything Ok?" Jack laughed as he moved closer in to the bed to sit on one of the VIP room's chairs as his friend blinked getting his eyes used to the light.

"Nope everything's great. The Tok'ra know immortals are real, there's a hell of a lot of evidence that you're telling the truth and I've still got a best friend." Daniel pushed himself up right looked at his friend,

"You OK Jack? I mean I wouldn't blame you if you were, annoyed, I mean I know you better than you know me, if you know what I mean, doesn't that bother you?"

Jack sighed his mood settling back into his tired acceptance of the truth, the real truth, "To be honest, yeah it bothers me, but we've got a few more years at least for me to get to know the REAL you, if you get what I mean. And at least you're not a traitor, I mean you're not are you?" Jack stared at his friend checking that they hadn't been making assumptions too soon due to personal need to believe that their friend was the good man they had thought they had known the whole time. Daniel smiled laughing,

"No I'm not a traitor, promise, cross my heart, and yeah there's many years to come before we need to be getting worried, but I mean, I understand if you want, space to think or whatever." Jack smiled and nodded before standing and turning to leave,

"Good I just had to, you know, check this was real." Daniel smiled in understanding before laying back down and settling for the night.

Jack O'Neill stood off to one side watching as Simmons was lead away from Cheyenne's entrance and towards the waiting car. The man wasn't going to be making anymore trouble for them, not where he was going. The court-martial would be the same as all the other court-martials involving NID members that the SGC had caught. The truth wouldn't ever really be heard outside of the SGC or the pentagon. Simmons would never know that he had failed in his last duty. That Doctor Daniel Jackson was going to be around for a long time, unless the worst were to happen, what ever the worst was.

Only one thing distracted Jack from his satisfaction that another member of the NID wouldn't be able to do anything to the SGC, the fact that soon enough someone else would be along. Someone else would be working from a position of power to fight the present leadership of the SGC, the present ideas of the SGC, and that one could very possibly be worse than Simmons and Maybourne. The war between the SGC and the NID wasn't finished. But the SGC had a new advantage, they had an immortal on their side.

---------------------------------------------------

And guess what, it's not the end! Well no, this is the end of Hidden truths, but there is more to come, or at least I hope there is. Thanks for visiting I hope you enjoyed your read,

The Schizophrenic Gatekeeper.


End file.
